Suna, Kumo, Kiri
by Edeey
Summary: Three Genin without their own team unite to face the Chuunin exams. With jinchurikis, avengers, and hormones on the loose, there's bound to be trouble. Especially with a snake obsessed freak, a homocidal insomniac and a wannabeHokage thrown into the mix!
1. The First Exam

**Hello there, this is my first fic, so be nice. My friend, Seadrance on here, is beta-ing for me, and she's also going to borrow one of the future scenes, seeing as she was the one who came up with the idea for it!**

**The pairings will be as follows:**

NaruHina

SasuSaku

ShikaTema

NejiTen

GaaOC

OCOC

**Ja ne!**

**Eden**

* * *

"Let the first Chuunin Exam begin!" yelled Ibiki.

'An exam,' Kobee thought, not all that interested.

He scribbled down his name, and wrote the answer to the first question before allowing himself to look at the others who were participating. His green eyes flickered over a boy a few seats in front, and an interested look bloomed on his face. Sasuke Uchiha, if he had his facts straight.

'The Uchiha boy… the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan,' he thought to himself. 'Interesting… and hopefully a challenge.'

He sighed, his troublesome team mates, if they could be called that, after all, he'd only met them a few hours earlier, would need his answers. He wrote down the rest of the answers, and glanced at the clock; there was about ten minutes before the tenth question. Slowly and inconspicuously he slid his hands under the desk, forming rapid seals. Somewhere behind him he heard someone's knee hit the desk, and knew his genjutsu was starting to take effect.

'Come on, Keiko,' he thought, 'let your guard down for a minute.'

"W-what's going on?!"

He smirked as his team mate's panicked voice echoed through his head. It had worked.

'It's Kobee,' he thought quickly. 'Here's the answers, pass them on to Sora.'

Before the temporary connection broke he sent a full list of answers to the girl, who he could hear scribbling on her paper. Keiko was from Kirigakure, while he, Kobee, was from Sunagakure, and Sora was from Kumogakure.

Keiko was the raw power of the team, and worked mainly with water manipulation, as she couldn't use genjutsu or ninjutsu, and her taijutsu was average. Her blue eyes could be warm and laughing one second, and cold enough to freeze hell in another.

Sora used mainly ninjutsu, but his genjutsu wasn't half bad. His real shortcoming was in taijutsu, because he was rather weak physically. His power lay in long distance battles, and planning his moves.

Kobee himself was a weapons specialist, using genjutsus to hide his traps and manipulate people. While he used tactics, he was better off in a spontaneous battle, where adrenaline and split second decisions were dominant.

"Alright, pencils down!" Ibiki roared. "It's time for the tenth question."

There was a nervous murmur, somewhat quieter than the muttering when the exam began due to the many people who had been caught cheating too many times.

"But before I ask you the tenth question, you have a choice about whether you wish to take it or not," the proctor told them seriously. "If you choose not to, you and your team mates will leave the room, and can take the exam next time around-."

"What's the point in not taking the question if the result of getting it wrong and not taking it are the same?" a loud female voice asked.

"Shut up, maggot," Ibiki yelled at the blonde Suna girl, who glared but shut her mouth. "If you answer incorrectly, you will fail the exam… and you may never become a Chuunin."

Angry and worried conversations broke out throughout the room, and Kobee shifted a little, catching Sora's black gaze out of the corner of his eye.

"SHUT UP!"

Kobee winced, he was unaware that someone could actually yell that loud.

"Those who don't want to take the tenth question, raise your hand and you may leave, I'll give you a few minutes to think about it."

Kobee zoned out, there was no way he wasn't taking this chance, and he knew the others well enough to know that they too wouldn't chicken out. The others in the room, however, were slowly disappearing.

_SLAM!_

Kobee jumped, snapped out of his daydream-state by the sudden noise. A blonde Genin near the front of the room was standing, his hand on the desk, and shaking. Kobee cocked his head curiously, he didn't sense any fear from the kid, but if not, why was he shaking like that? Excitement? Surely not…

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT!? GIVE UP ON BECOMING A CHUUNIN OR DROP OUT?!" the blonde yelled at the proctor, making Kobee blink in surprise. "WELL I'M NOT GONNA CHICKEN OUT! I'M GONNA BE HOKAGE NO MATTER WHAT, EVEN IF I FAIL I WONT GIVE UP!"

Kobee grinned, that kid had spirit.

The entire atmosphere of the room had changed, the confidence was almost tangible. Kobee was surprised that one kid, with a rather annoying speech, could change the attitude of nearly a hundred people. Even the examiner seemed mildly surprised, and he was even smiling!

"Well, are you sure you want to stay for this? Last chance."

No one moved.

"Very well…" his smile became more prominent. "You pass."

Kobee blinked in confusion like the rest of the group, before realizing that it had merely been a trick question, and there was no tenth question.

_CRASH!_

He winced, there seemed to be a lot of loud noises lately.

"Still so many left, Ibiki? The first exam must be softer than when I took it!" the woman who had destroyed the window laughed. "I'm Anko, and I'll be the proctor for the second part of the exams…"

* * *

**Well? What do you think, review!**

**Eden**


	2. The Second Exam

**Hello,**

**Slight change of plans, the scene (mentioned last chapter) isn't going to be in this fic, it'll belong solely to Seadrance. Sorry about the shortness and rushed... ness? lol**

**This chapter will shed some light on people's personalities, how they get along with one another, and also a little on their pasts...  
**

**Enjoy**

**Eden**

* * *

Keiko muttered curse words under her breath, slowly unwinding her leg from the mess of vines it had become trapped in. They'd arrived at the appointed time, and received their 'chi' scroll. Kobee had become the unofficial leader of their team, while Sora provided tactical support, and she the power.

"It's not smart for a pretty little kunoichi like you to be all alone out here, especially in your current position."

She froze, feeling warm breath against her ear, and narrowed her eyes. Fingers wrapped themselves around her neck. The grass and trees around them, including the vines, shrivelled up, though her attacker seemed not to notice. She flicked her wrist slightly, and the light mist that had developed congregated in one spot, forming a floating ball of water. Her attacker seemed to notice that he was in danger, and, with a curse, leapt away.

Keiko whipped her hand down at an angle, feeling her chakra flowing out and helping her control the water. Said water shot across like a bullet, razor sharp and fast. The boy, who looked only a few years older than her twelve, fell, lifeless, on the ground, blood seeping from his head. She sighed, and the water splashed to the ground, red-stained clear washing across the grass.

She stood, her brown hair falling back comfortably. She walked over to his body, and did a quick search. He had several kunai, a dozen shuriken, eleven paper bombs (too wet to use), two smoke bombs and some wire; but that wasn't what made her smirk. She lifted the 'ten' scroll in her hands and examined it for signs of counterfeit, before tucking it away in one of her many pockets.

She pouted slightly; this was far too easy to be fun. She didn't mind killing, but she certainly didn't enjoy it, though she did like challenges, and usually people put up a fight, which made killing them the challenge; therefore, she thought, feeling hypocritical, she enjoyed killing. She groaned and rubbed her temples, she was getting a headache from her annoyingly circular thinking.

"Ah, damn," she sighed. "Kobee's gonna be pissed… he didn't get to have fun."

She leapt off into the trees, following the chakra-tracers she'd set on her team mates; they were only visible to her, a certain species of bug, Hyuuga's, and possibly Uchiha's (but they were, like, extinct anyway). After a few minutes she landed silently in the branches of a tall tree, watching her team mates battle below. She had a great respect (and envy) for Kobee's battle style, he used a combination of traditional taijutsu and spontaneous, not to mention unpredictable genjutsu. On top of that he threw weapons into the mix, his style wasn't set, so it was nigh impossible to plan a way to beat him.

Kobee feinted left, and the enemy leaned away to the right to avoid the kunai; Kobee smirked and swung back to his right, plunging a kunai into the other boy's ribs, and slashing downwards with a second kunai. The opponent hissed in apain, and leapt away, clutching his stomach where a bloodstain was emerging on his shirt. Kobee's hands flew quickly through a series of seals, and he muttered his genjutsu. The enemy fell, unconscious as the jutsu took hold, and the Suna-nin coolly tossed a number of senbon Sora's enemy, hitting him in the thigh and shoulder. Sora took him out quickly and glared at Kobee.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my own enemies," the older boy spat angrily.

"I'm aware, but this was taking too long, and too much chakra on your part," Kobee replied in a tone that allowed no argument.

"Ah, damn, they've got a 'chi' scroll," Sora groaned, holding up the offending item.

"Keep it, burn it, whatever, it eliminates competition," Kobee dismissed it, looking rather excited at the prospect of more battles.

"Hey guys," Keiko greeted, landing lightly on the ground in front of them. "I've got the 'ten' scroll."

"Already?" Sora asked incredulously. "You were barely gone an hour!"

"Pfft," Keiko smirked. "More than enough time."

"Just hand it over, Kei-chan," Kobee held out his hand; was it just her, or did that suffix have a sarcastic spin?

The brunette girl glared for a moment, before handing over her prize, muttering about annoying Suna-nin who thought they were better than everyone else. Sora hid a smile, and Kobee ignored it completely.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked expectantly. "Are we eliminating the competition, or heading straight to the tower?"

"We sh-," Sora stated.

"Eliminate our competition," Kobee interrupted without a second glance. "Split up. I'll take the scrolls."

"We should split the scrolls up, take one each," Keiko argued. "That way if you get attacked and can't escape or defeat them we won't lose all the scrolls."

Kobee met her eyes with a glare.

"Are you challenging me?" he hissed.

"Damn right," Keiko spat back, grabbing him by the collar. "Now hand over the damn 'ten' scroll. I have the most power, so if I'm attacked I'll be able to fend them off the longest. Not to mention my natural shield."

"Release me, ingrate," his hand wrapped threateningly around her throat. "If you value your life, that is."

"Heh," Keiko's lips curved into a slightly crazy smile. "You wouldn't… without me, you fail the second exam. So drop the act, gaki."

The Suna-nin's grip tightened and his other hand gripped her wrist in a painfully tight grasp. He smirked and snapped it, then released her. She fell to the ground, white-faced and clutching the damaged area.

"Just because I can't kill you, doesn't mean I can't hurt you," Kobee reminded her icily. "Remember that."

He, nonetheless, dropped the lightly-coloured scroll in front of her, while Sora watched on quietly, the spare 'chi' scroll held in his hands. The reddish-brunette vanished into the trees a few seconds later, but Keiko was sure that she'd seen a trace of a smile on his lips as he turned away.

"Are you okay?" the black-eyed boy asked softly, squatting beside her. "That would have hurt."

"No shit, Sora," she snapped irritably; she sighed. "Gomen, the pain makes me bad tempered."

"Here," Sora took her hand, his own illuminated by green chakra.

The brunette girl sighed happily as the pain in her wrist faded. Sora frowned in concentration, and Keiko shuddered involuntarily as she felt her bones start to rearrange so Sora could set them properly. It was a very weird feeling, one she had no intention of feeling again; her bones were becoming rubbery, and then bending to fit together in the way they were originally intended to. Then Sora's chakra set into the cracks, and formed a glue-like substance that would hold the bones in place while they healed. Her naturally accelerated healing would take care of the break in a few hours, but until then she wasn't to use that hand at all.

"Thanks, Sora-kun," Keiko smiled, wrapping her wrist in a strip of material, and forming a sling. "Where did you learn that?"

"My mother is a medic-nin," he shrugged. "She taught me a few things."

"Could you teach me one t- oh…" she realised that this was a temporary companionship. "Never mind."

Sora smiled. "No, I'll teach you during the break between the second and third exam if you like."

"Break?" she asked curiously.

"There's a month-long break, for training," Sora explained, helping her up; at her curious look he explained further. "My sister took it a few years ago, and I doubt they've changed it."

"Oh," Keiko laughed a little. "Arigato. We'd better get moving, Kobee would be pissed if we didn't."

"Aa," Sora smiled. "Good luck, Kei-chan."

He gave her unhurt hand a gentle squeeze and leapt away in a different direction to the one Kobee had gone. Keiko looked down at the hand he had squeezed, and felt slightly confused as to why. She sighed and shrugged it off, heading off towards a chakra signal to her left.

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, Kobee-teme," Keiko hissed, glaring across the stadium at her team mate.

The brunette boy stood nonchalantly in the shadows, his eyes half lidded as he watched the other people scurrying to find somewhere to sit for the preliminary matches. A blonde boy with whisker marks down his cheeks was complaining about it taking too long for the fights to start, while what she assumed were his team mates, ignored him.

Keiko looked up at the screen, where names and random letters were flashing in and out of view. After about thirty seconds two names flashed solidly on the screen.

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**vs.**

**Akahoshi Sora**

"Will the battlers please make their way to the arena so we may begin?" a sickly looking man asked, coughing every few words.

Why did she suddenly get the feeling that this wasn't going to end well?

* * *

**Uh-oh... this is going to be trouble... Good luck... um... both... of you?**

**Ten - Heaven**

**Chi - Earth **

**REVIEW!**

**Eden **


	3. The First Match: Sasuke VS Sora!

**Okay, first of all, I'd like to thank Seadrance for helping with the fight scene, coz neither of us can write them, and she's a better writer, i got her to write it for me... cheating, i know... Enjoy!**

**Eden**

* * *

Sora chewed on his lip nervously, not just because he was fighting the remaining loyal Uchiha, but because of the harsh, ice-cold words his temporary team mate had hissed in his ear a few moments earlier. He shuddered as the memory flickered in the back of his mind.

* * *

**FLASH**

* * *

_Sora began to walk towards the arena, but a grip on his left wrist stopped him. He turned his head a fraction, and froze. Icy eyes glared into his, and he held back a shudder. His pupils narrowed invisibly as fear flickered in his belly, licking its way up to his lungs to freeze his breath._

_Kobee lowered his mouth to the other's ear, causing shivers of fear to run down Sora's spine with each hot breath against his earlobe and neck._

"_Let him win, regardless of whether you can defeat him," the words brushed against something in his mind, somehow calming and scaring him simultaneously. "Got it?"_

_Sora nodded slightly, his wrist feeling cold and numb in the other boy's grasp; he had no idea how Keiko managed to remain relatively calm in this position, or, for that matter, aggravate him. Kobee, he decided, was _weird_… and just plain, freaking _scary

* * *

**FLASH**

* * *

He could still feel the tight grip on his wrist, and feel the glare of the younger boy burning into his back as he waited for permission to begin the fight. The proctor's words were like a distant birdcall, rather than the words that would start the trial that would decide his future.

He watched through narrowed eyes as the Uchiha ran at him. He seemed slower than the small snippets he'd heard of the Uchiha's excellence; Kobee would be disappointed. He fell into a low crouch, gritting his teeth as he readied himself, recalling the final instructions Kobee had given him.

* * *

**FLASH**

* * *

"_Make it believable," Kobee added, loosening his grip. "Oh… and toy with him a little, I want to see how good this little 'prodigy' is…"_

* * *

**FLASH**

* * *

He pivoted away from the first punch, and ducked gracefully under a second, rolling away from the knee that tried to clip him in the jaw. He hoisted himself up on one hand, using a small burst of concentrated chakra to give himself enough momentum to spin his foot around to kick Sasuke's feet from under him. Sasuke jumped at the last second, and came down behind the Kumo-nin. A well placed kick between the shoulder-blades had the lightweight ninja falling forwards.

Grimacing, he used a swift substitution jutsu, and hid behind the statue, thinking carefully. There was the sound of swift movement from behind him, and Sasuke appeared in front of him. His hands moved almost automatically.

"Raikou Shuriken!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as a series of electric discs flew at him; the Sharingan whirred frantically as it copied the technique, and Sora almost regretted the action. Almost. With the time he was given by Sasuke's surprise and retreat, he managed to launch a second jutsu.

"Kirigakure no jutsu."

He vanished under a cloak of mist; catching a glimpse of a slightly frustrated, black-eyed Uchiha.

* * *

Keiko gripped the railing, her nails bending uncomfortably against the metal. She'd seen Kobee grab Sora, and was at least half sure she knew what he'd threatened the Kumo boy to do. Her teeth ground nervously together, and her neck prickled with anxiousness. She wanted, now more than ever, to strangle Kobee; while she was almost immune to Kobee's killing intent, having been on many more missions than Sora and had many more people wanting to kill her, Sora was definitely not.

She watched as mist exploded across the stadium/arena area; and wondered, vaguely, where Sora had gotten that jutsu. Her natural instinct was to relax in the mist, it gave her a sense of safety, being something she experience regularly at home; however, she resisted that, and paced down the balcony for a better view. The Uchiha seemed weak for a top Genin, being so easily surprised by such a simple technique, but she knew from experience that looking weak and being weak didn't always go hand-in-hand.

She jumped as a hand rested on her shoulder, and spun, a kunai drawn. She lowered the metal implement when she noticed that it was a slightly nervous looking blonde boy. It was the boy who she'd seen complaining that the fights weren't starting soon enough, and, if she was right, the Uchiha's team mate. She looked at him warily.

"I'm Uzamaki Naruto," he offered. "Who're you?"

"Chiharu Keiko," she replied, holding out her hand. "Kirigakure."

"Konohagakure," he smiled back. "Is that your team mate?"

"Yeah…" Keiko hissed as another round of lightning shuriken lit up through the mist barrier. "The Uchiha… he's your team mate?"

"Unfortunately," Naruto muttered.

Keiko sucked in a breath as a huge blast of fire became visible in the mist, erasing a small section of the veil. She caught a glimpse of Sora throwing another round of lighting shuriken, and the Uchiha dodging, ready to bring his foot around in a roundhouse kick, before the mist obscured her view again.

* * *

Sora threw the next round of lightning shuriken, and dodged the roundhouse kick the Uchiha had tried to hit him with. This kid was just plain sloppy. Sora pulled out two kunai, and spun to catch the shuriken his opponent had thrown. He caught them as they fell to the ground, and threw them back at their owner. The black-haired boy jumped over them, and Sora smirked. A flick of the wrist and the two metal weapons were flying back into the startled boy.

Sasuke grunted as the three weapons flew at him, one catching him in the back, while the other two nicked him; one on his shoulder, the other on the hip. Sora dropped the wire as he saw Sasuke about to yank them towards him in a move that would have dragged the Kumo-nin towards him too. Unfortunately, Sora was too busy regaining his balance to notice that Sasuke was behind him. He gasped as the Uchiha snagged the back of his collar, and threw him upwards.

'Kuso.'

Sora was flying through the air with his back to the ground, and was unable to flip around. He shut his eyes and thought rapidly.

'I'm in midair, I have nothing to grip onto to change my course,' he thought, each heartbeat seeming like a gong. 'Puppeteers use chakra strings to trip their enemies sometimes… so maybe…'

His eyes shot open, and he put one hand out beside him, on his right. Chakra, quickly focussed and compressed, shot out of his hand, burying into the ground. He tightened his grip around the slightly intangible pole of chakra, and used it to pull himself around. There was an annoyed hiss of swearing from his left as he spiralled down his creation, and he noticed the Uchiha melting back into the mist, his attack having failed.

Sora skidded down the pole, the chakra wavering and half cutting out more than once. Once he landed, he released the chakra, pulling as much back into his body as possible. Damn, that had taken too much chakra to risk using it again.

'Oh shit.'

He jumped, pushing chakra into his feet for extra bounce, and found himself sweating above an enormous fireball.

'That was way too close.'

He hit the ground again, and wobbled a little as his knees absorbed the impact. Pulling out five of his remaining ten shuriken, he waited, sensing for the Uchiha boy.

* * *

Sasuke panted slightly, his jutsu had taken a little more chakra than he intended. He was more than a little annoyed, his Shishi Rendan, which he'd been wanting to try ever since he'd come up with it after seeing Lee's Kage Buyō, had failed on the very first trail run; though, he mused, Akahoshi had been smart in avoiding it, and it could be put down to smart thinking on his part.

He frowned, Akahoshi wasn't attacking, was he lurking, trying to psych him out? Or was he waiting for the next attack? Still frowning, Sasuke drew a kunai, and fell into a defensive stance, ready to catch any sudden move. His black eyes scanned the mist, and he found himself getting a little jumpy; even a small whisper from the onlookers was making him tense. Well… if he was trying to psych him out, he'd somewhat succeeded.

Almost instinctively he raised his kunai as something glittering flew towards him.

* * *

"Sora!" Keiko gasped as a yelp of pain came from the mist.

Beside her, Naruto tensed too, and she realised that he was concerned about his own team mate, regardless of whether he appeared to thoroughly dislike the boy in public. She let out a sigh of relief as the sound processed in her mind; that wasn't Sora.

She was slightly surprised she was so attached to the boy after such a short time; maybe it had something to do with him healing her…

She was starting to get a little annoyed with the mist, which was obscuring her view of the fight. Her fingernails had broken long since, and she was now biting the sharp edges off. She was a little disappointed, her fingernails had been one of her weapons; she sharpened them with chakra, and slashed them downwards like claws.

Was it the thought of one of the few people who treated her without prejudice that was causing her to be so nervous? Was it the mutual hatred and fear of Kobee that they shared that had her feeling so close to him already? Or was it perhaps the thought of the fight itself, the thundering heartbeats, the quick breathing, that had her so filled with tense energy.

* * *

Kobee watched in annoyance; he couldn't see a damn thing those two were doing, and he'd wanted to see the Uchiha fight. Sora would pay for it later, that he promised. He narrowed his eyes a fraction, and raised a hand. A few seals later, and the mist was dissipating inconspicuously.

He smirked, and leaned forwards against the railing, watching avidly as the battle within the mist was slowly revealed.

* * *

Sora muttered a curse word, and looked around himself at the vanishing mist. The mist was a cloak, one that allowed him to be silent and mysterious, thus unnerving weaker opponents; with it gone, he would not only lose the advantage of being invisible to his opponent, but he would lose his favourite battle plan. With the last cover the mist provided, he ran, throwing his remaining four shuriken towards the Uchiha's chakra signal.

Lightning fizzled along the sharp metal stars, and the Uchiha had found out the hard way that said lightning wasn't an illusion. None of the shuriken hit the mark, but they allowed him some time to get away from Sasuke and plan his next move.

'If worst comes to worst… I'll forfeit, claim chakra exhaustion,' he thought bitterly. 'Pity I have to drop out in the first round, I would have liked a shot at battling some of these people…'

The Uchiha was gripping his right arm, which was shivering but otherwise limp at his side, the shuriken Sora had thrown was on the ground beside him, and his handsome features contorted in pain. Sora almost felt sorry for his opponent, having experienced the, pardon the pun, shock of getting hit with one of those electrified shuriken; or rather, he'd held onto them too long after charging them, and not coated his hands with insulating chakra, on one or two occasions.

However, the Uchiha now seemed more speedy and strategic than before, and seemed to be more focussed on lowering Sora's chakra and energy than wiping him out by force. The black-haired boy rushed at the other, and vanished for a second to land a kick on Sora's right shoulder. Seconds later he was down low, sweeping his leg out to trip the Kumo-nin. Sora jumped, and brought his leg down on Sasuke's head from behind. Sasuke manoeuvred so that his blow landed on the shoulder, rather than the back of the skull. The Uchiha continued to spin, raising his leg to catch Sora in the jaw.

While he was seeing stars, Sasuke continued the move, and brought himself to his feet, kicking at Sora's head with his opposite leg. Sora brought his arm up, and caught the blow; in doing so, he left his ribs open for a hit. Sasuke brought his right hand, the opposite side to the leg that had just been blocked, into Sora's ribs. Sora gasped for air, his breath knocked from his lungs. However, Sasuke had left a gap; one Sora took full advantage of. He shoved his palm upwards into Sasuke's lifted leg, pushing him off balance and to the ground.

Sora threw a round of shuriken (two), and vanished to hide again. Panting slightly, he raised a hand to his head, healing his aching jaw. He grimaced as he noticed he'd lost a tooth due to that blow, and pulled out his remaining weapons; five shuriken, eight paper bombs, two smoke grenades, three kunai, a few scrolls, a score of senbon, and about fifteen metres of ninja wire. On top of that, he had about half of his chakra left, due to the fights in the forest he'd encountered, and the various jutsu's he'd just used. He shut his eyes and opened his senses, allowing instinct to take over while he thought out his plan.

* * *

'What's he doing?' Sasuke frowned. 'Hiding here won't do much good; the area's too small to do much good… not to mention there's no mist to hide him anymore.'

He fell into a defensive stance, not pulling a kunai for fear of the lightning shuriken again, and waited.

He wasn't kept in that state for long, instead forced backwards as two shuriken flew at him (not electrified, thankfully). Unfortunately, they were rigged with exploding tags, and he was forced backwards again, his back barely two metres from the wall. Three more shuriken followed, these electrified, but not explosive. He dodged left, and felt his back hit the wall.

There was a flash of silver, and ten senbon flew at him. He was startled to see the other boy running behind them, looking as though he were about to reach for more weapons. A curse word slipped past his lips as he felt the senbon impact around his shoulders and arms. He was slightly confused as to what good this would do, until he noticed that there were ten more senbon in his opponent's hands, and that those were attached to wire, which was attached to the senbon around his shoulders.

Sharingan eyes widened as the wire pulled tight across his chest, pinning him to the wall. Two seconds later, four exploding tags had been attached to the senbon, and a smoke grenade exploded, obscuring his view of the other boy. He held his breath, not knowing whether the smoke was poisonous or not, and began to struggle loose from his bindings. Getting frustrated, he sent a sharp blast of chakra at the wire, slicing through it, and bolted. Behind him a huge explosion caused the stadium to rumble, and his team mate's scream echoed through the deafening sound.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

'She should turn that into a jutsu…' he thought absently. 'Scream no jutsu.'

Shaking such thoughts away, he pushed chakra to his feet, and used it to run faster. He could sense a hastily concealed chakra signal on the opposite side of the arena, and he headed towards it. He needed to get this fight over with, or the seal… his shoulder twinged painfully at the mere thought of the blasted thing… He switched his Sharingan off, knowing that having it on was causing the seal to grow stronger, and threw a punch at his, albeit smart, opponent.

* * *

'Pity I have to let this end,' Sora sighed, dodging the punch aimed at his head, and bringing his own fist upwards into the Uchiha's stomach. 'He's giving me a run for my money; I hadn't expected him to think of chakra so quickly…'

He let the next punch hit, a sharp blow to the ribs, unfortunately in the same place as the first strike; and he took the kick to his knees, allowing himself to be knocked to the ground. Sasuke grabbed his collar, and Sora was hoisted into the air, then tossed as if a rag doll. Sasuke moved quickly, taking the chance given by the other's apparent exhaustion. He aimed a kick to the left side, which was blocked, then spun his hand back around to backhand the other across the cheek.

Sora winced. 'Geez, he _slapped_ me?'

'That was so humiliating… note to self, disregard slapping upon next use…' Sasuke thought grimly.

The Uchiha brought his fist down into Sora's stomach, propelling him back towards the ground. Sasuke waited until just the right time, then swung his left foot around in a kick to the chest, which occurred at the same time both met the ground.

"SHISHI RENDAN!" Sasuke yelled.

Sora felt pain register in his mind, and realised that he'd coughed up blood, but he was already succumbing to blackness, and allowed sleep to rush over him.

* * *

"SHISHI RENDAN!" Sasuke yelled.

Blood flew from the Kumo-nin's lips, and his eyes bulged painfully. Sasuke leapt away, and fell onto his hands, bringing his knees flawlessly into Sora's abused ribs. There was a distinct snap, and Sora went limp.

There was a silence, before.

"Winner; Uchiha Sasuke…"

He grimaced and stood, wiping sweat away from his brow. Beneath him, his knees wobbled, and he hit the ground, shivering with exhaustion. His muscles refused to hold him, and his eyes felt heavy. He heard urgent footsteps, and felt a soft hand pressed against his head, but none of that mattered, as blackness claimed his sight.

* * *

**Well? Review!**

**Eden**


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